Isabel Marant Olympe @ Connie & Teds

Isabel Marant Olympe blouse in antique pink, Uniqlo denim, Isabel Marant x H&M fringe boots

I can always tell if something was the right buy if I rip the tags off right away and start wearing it immediately. If it's still hanging in my closet with tags on months later, it probably was a mistake. Fortunately, this ruffly pink Isabel Marant Olympe blouse was a case of the former, it arrived yesterday and I wore it to a Friday date night dinner at Connie & Ted's in West Hollywood. Love this blouse, plus it's versatile: weather has been a little chilly so paired it with dark denim and boots, and will pair it with white pants and skirts (and of course my fave Oriane shorts and Edris Sandals) for the spring / summer to lighten it up. Hopefully this concludes my Isabel Marant splurges this season. This blouse is pretty much sold out in my size everywhere (finally tracked it down in Italy via Farfetch), so I knew I couldn't wait until sale season.

Isabel Marant Oriane & Edris meet Madewell

Madewell Memento Tank, Isabel Marant Oriane Shorts, Isabel Marant Edris Sandals and Prada Sunglasses

The heatwave earlier this week was the perfect opportunity to break out what is sure to be my go to outfit for the summer, the Isabel Marant Oriane Shorts and Edris Sandals from her SS 2014 runway collection. Paired with the black embroidered Madewell Memento tank, an easy breezy summertime outfit. Perfect outfit for a morning preschool toddler class followed by a couple days getaway to the Four Seasons Westlake Village, sans toddler. I love skorts, the Zara ones were my first foray back into skorts a few months ago and now I'm addicted.

It's been hard to keep up with the blogging with little k around; her new favorite thing is to insist on being part of all the pictures. The shot above was my only solo pic, this is what most of the pics looked like:

Just in: Isabel Marant Oriane Shorts & Scopa

Isabel Marant Oriane shorts in black, Isabel Marant Edris sandals in black, Helmut Lang sweater and Etoile Isabel Marant Kady leather jacket

My second Isabel Marant runway piece of the season: the Oriane shorts in black. As much as I try to exercise self restraint and wait for sales, I just had to have both the Edris sandals and Oriane shorts from the amazing SS 2014 collection. Glad I took the plunge because both pieces have been hard to find as they have been selling out quickly. They are both practical, easy to match in black, everyday wearable pieces that I will get a ton of use out of. Even though it's been slightly chilly here in LA, I couldn't wait to wear them, so here they are adapted for early spring, paired with a cozy knit and leather jacket. Better detail shots of the Oriane shorts to come.

An easy outfit to transition from day to night; I just swapped out the Edris sandals with the Isabel Marant x H&M fringed boots for dinner and drinks at Scopa Italian Roots, a newish restaurant on the border of Marina del Rey / Venice. We had a great time; reminded me of our old NYC days: a combination of spending hours sitting at the bar, eating and drinking, and chatting with the bartenders at two of our favorite places: Babbo and Lupa and our regular late nights at the original cocktail haven, Milk & Honey. We got there around 8:45pm and waited about 45 minutes for two seats at the bar, assisted by some regulars. The bar is definitely where it is at; the bartenders definitely know their stuff, from well crafted cocktails, to the extensive brown liquor, tequila and rum lists, and the food. All the food was delicious, starting from oysters in the halfshell, followed by humungous perfectly fried squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta, then the decadent uni toast served in a cast iron skillet with generous amount of cockles, the two pastas: a chitarra which was basically a cacio e pepe, and the pork shank pappardelle. Everything was delicious and quite generously portioned. I thought the food was better than our similar menu at Bucato a few months ago. I like the feel of the restaurant a lot more too, just more my style, a large box of a space with exposed brick walls and a very impressive soaring lit up bar. Since they clearly knew their stuff, I stuck with the cocktails for dinner, starting with the Barbados #1, a strawberry and rum based cocktail, followed by off the menu concoctions from the bartender: a strawberry mojito, a honey rum drink and a nightcap with aged rum, coffee liquor and heavy cream (basically a white russian with rum instead of vodka). K stuck with the bourbons and tried lots of great stuff, including Rocking Hill and 4 Roses. It's the perfect spot for 2 people at the bar; I would otherwise recommend getting a reservation for larger parties but the experience won't be quite the same.

Venice Saturday

What could be a better morning: brunch at Gjelina followed by wandering up and down Abbott Kinney. Used to be a pretty typical Saturday before little k's arrival, and happy she's old enough now that she can enjoy it with us.

Just In: Isabel Marant Edris Sandals

Isabel Marant Edris Sandals

Just in time for the first days of spring, the studded Isabel Marant Edris sandals in black. Fell in love with them during the runway show, but almost missed out as they were released to many of the retailers while I was in Taiwan. Sold out most places including the Isabel Marant Melrose store, I finally tracked down a pair in my size at the Soho store. It's been awhile since I've bought practical, ie flat sandals, so these will be my new summer "practical" shoes. They are basically glorified Birkenstocks, although I've tried on a few styles of original Birkenstocks recently but they don't fit me properly. While I haven't walked really far in them yet, they are quite comfortable with a little bit of arch support. Love them actually even more without the leather ankle straps which are removable, they are more comfortable, plus no time to bother with wrapping and tying long straps while trying to get a rambunctious toddler out the door.

On another note, it's taking all my willpower to not buy the entire SS 2014 Isabel Marant collection. Love everything (except for the florals), but especially dying for one of the impossibly romantic ruffly tops or shorts. So many things on my wishlist, I don't even know where to start. Trying my very best to be patient, but a lot of my faves seem to be selling out and won't likely make it to sale season...

Spring Forward

Prabal Gurung for Target sleeveless blouse, Zara white mini skort, Swedish Hasbeens for H&M white sandals, Prada sunglasses and J Crew panama hat

Even though there's still a few more days of winter left here, it feels like spring already with the 80 degree weather over the weekend. Time to break out the whites and florals! I have this bucket bag in black (with red lining) already and just got this beautiful camel  (with an orange lining) color as well, perfect for spring! Can't believe I have two of the same bag, but I love it, it's roomy enough to carry all my toddler essentials and fun enough to wear out, I have been alternating between the two colors everyday!

Happy St Patty's Day!

We made our traditional corned beef and cabbage St Patrick's Day meal a little early over the weekend this year as K is traveling for work today. It was tasty as usual; picked up about 5 lbs of flat cut corned beef brisket from Pavilions this year along with a few pounds of organic carrots, cabbage and potatoes and of course Guinness! Followed pretty much the same recipe as previous times, although I cooked the veggies a little longer since we had toddlers dining with us. Little k loved everything (except potatoes which she never likes). A true 1/4 irish baby! It was a little bit saltier than previous times, should have soaked it in cold water like we did the first time.